Democrats call for police probe into Trump's 'death threat' post, he rebuts

Several Democratic lawmakers have been seeking police action since Friday, after US President Donald Trump said that they should be arrested and potentially punished by death for encouraging the American military to disobey orders from the White House.

Soon after Trump made the threat online, at least two lawmakers, Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colorado) and Chris Deluzio (D-Pennsylvania) have requested the US Capitol police to investigate the “intimidating, threatening, and concerning” posts made by Trump, Axios reported.

On Friday, Deluzio spokeswoman Zoe Bluffstone confirmed that his office has also reported to the Capitol Police using the same language as in the letter from Crow’s office. Meanwhile, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pennsylvania) said on the same day that her office had filed a complaint about Trump’s threat.

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However, her office did not confirm if she had also explicitly requested an investigation. Trump made the post on Thursday in response to a video released on Tuesday of six Congress members cautioning that “threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home.”

The lawmakers with military experience urged the American military and intelligence communities to disobey any illegal orders they receive. However, in the video, the lawmakers were not seen describing the orders they deemed illegal. Some representatives have said that they are hearing from service members questioning the legality of strikes that have targeted people the Trump administration alleges are trafficking narcotics by sea.

How the message from the Democrats rattled Trump

It is pertinent to note that the US military adheres to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which states that service members must obey lawful orders, whether they agree with them or not. However, they are obligated to follow “manifestly unlawful orders,” but such situations are rare and legally fraught.

The concerns of the Democratic lawmakers in the video appeared to have rattled the American leader, who is known for seeking retribution against his perceived political enemies. “It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL,” Trump wrote in response to the video. “Their words cannot be allowed to stand - We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET.”

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Trump went on to state that the behaviour of the Democratic lawmakers was “punishable by DEATH!” and reshared a post proclaiming: “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!” After Trump’s statement, Houlahan, a former Air Force officer, explained her side during an appearance on Friday on the “The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent” podcast.

“There’s a threat line you can email. You have to identify who it is, if you know what they said, if you have it,” Houlahan said, explaining the process. “I don’t know how else to describe that other than a threat to my safety.” When asked about the concerns of the Democratic lawmakers, the White House pointed to Trump’s interview with Kilmeade.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that Trump was not suggesting violence against the makers of the video. “These members knew what they were doing,” Leavitt added, calling the message they were sending “very dangerous” and perhaps punishable by law.

“I’m not a lawyer. I’ll leave that to the Department of Justice and the Department of War to decide,” she said, using the Trump administration’s term for the rebranded Department of Defence. She went on to maintain that “every single order that is given to this United States military by this commander in chief and through this command chain of command, through the Secretary of War, is lawful.” Meanwhile, the Pentagon did not comment on Trump’s latest order.